Love and Survival
by JoyfulSilence
Summary: During a freezing Russian conference, Alfred slips up and ultimately gets the visitors forced to survive in the cellar and no one is realy willing or able to help out. Pairings: RussiaxAmerica, Giripan, EnglandxJapan and FrUK and other minor pairings
1. Arrival

I knocked lightly on the door of the towering Russian Palace. I must admit that just the door itself psyched me out a little bit. It was easily two and a half times my height.

It was so cold outside, I realized, that for the first time in a long time I feared for my life without actually provoking anything. The cats that usually surrounded my ankles in their carefree patterns were, Instead, huddled together leaning on the door in an attempt to steal warmth from each other as well as the interior of the palace, with the exception of the two Russian raised cats, aptly named Soviet and Siberia who looked unconcerned with the wind and snow. In fact, they looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. It was times like this I really would have preferred to be a cat. They couldn't care less what the world was doing; they lived solely for themselves and each other.

I knocked on the door again, harder this time. I assumed that no one on the inside had heard me the first time. Within moments, the door opened a crack to reveal Toris staring back at me. The cats took the opportunity to dash inside to where the warmth was. Toris let out a little squeak before he realized that it was just my family of Cats passing by his feet.

'Hello?' He said, poking his head out the door, 'Oh! Heracles, come in come in before you freeze to death.' I shivered and followed him, slipping through the door into the entrance. Toris Quickly shut the door behind me and shivered himself.

'Ya sas~, Toris' I said, 'It's good to see you again' I shook the snow off me and removed what little of a coat I had. 'I really do need a better coat if I'm going to ever come back here' I muttered to myself. It's far too warm in my country all year to have use for a large winter coat, so I never figured I'd need one.

'Likewise' He replied to me, 'Make yourself at home'

The huge Sign in the Façade said 'Welcome, My friends to Russia' In a number of different scripts, but as large as it was it was still daunted by the high, arched ceilings, the columns that reached them and every small little detail in between. I hadn't seen anything like it. There hadn't been anything a fraction this magnificent in my country for hundreds of years. In addition, what was left of it remains as my mother's Ruins.

'Ah! Heracles' Said a Voice, Breaking my fascination. It was Ivan walking in with little Soviet (Looking less vicious then I'd ever seen him before) in his arms. 'Glad you could come, comrade. You're the first to arrive. I should give you an award or something, Da?' He put the cat down who bolted in a flash of white fur, 'Perhaps I won't make you sleep outside tonight' He laughed.

'Well' I said, trying to return the laugh, 'I suppose that's a relief. It's unbelievably cold out there, even just for a few minutes, I can't Imagine Being forced to spend the whole night out there'

'Cold?' Ivan said bluntly, 'Niet, this is wonderful weather. I only have to wear one coat in weather like this'

'As opposed to?'

'Four'

'Oh.' I said flatly. One of my smaller cats came and leaned on my foot. I picked him up and wiggled my finger at him. He was still cold from being outside. 'Hello Ailuros' I said to him as he playfully bit my finger

'You brought many cats, da?' Ivan said as another came and rubbed against his heel. He pushed it away with his foot.

'They followed me here' I said shrugging my shoulders, 'you might recognize a couple of them, you did give them to me after training them to be vicious and bitter.' I was referring, of course to Soviet and Siberia, who at that moment were jumping on the tables, 'I'm so sorry, If I'd known you'd be less' Ivan pushed another cat away from him 'tolerant of them, I'd have tried harder to get them to stay at home' I watched as He pushed the persistent cat away again.

'It's alright, Comrade' He said to me, giggling a bit 'As long as they don't break any-'


	2. Yao

'Ivan, Sir' Toris said, tripping over his own words as he cut off Ivan's, 'I am sorry to interrupt this lovely banter, but It's Yao, sir' He paused, Pointing to the door. 'And if you could get this cat off of me. It's chewing on my hair' Toris was clearly uncomfortable with the Presence of the cat so I pulled Sunset off him and put him on the floor. A touch of relief spread over his face, but He still looked uncomfortable. That was how he always looked, mind. However, he stood there as if he was expecting a response.

'Well' Ivan said, gesturing to the door, 'Let him in. He IS an invited guest after all.' Toris nodded his head and left, when the door finally opened I could only hear Yao's voice.

'Aiyah' Followed by a number Of Chinese words I did not understand, but one could assume they were cusses. 'It's FREEZING out there, aru' He shook the snow off himself as I had. 'What's with the cats? Is Greece here already, aru?'

'Da' Ivan replied gesturing towards me.

'Cute' Yao said, 'But why so many?'

'They Followed me here' I sighed. I got the Impression that I was going to be saying that a couple more times before the night was out. I knew that Alfred, Arthur and Some Kid Named Matthew (Though I didn't know who that was) would also be coming. Knowing Alfred I Assumed He would be late, but as for Arthur, It was Uncharacteristic for him to arrive at a summit later than Yao, Let alone myself. It was a close call for myself as well, as I'd slept through my superior telling me that I was supposed to be Going, And neither of us really knew where I was going, Even when I finally got here. From what I experienced, flying in, a lot of Russia Is snow, snow, more snow, something that wants to Kill you (If Hypothermia hasn't caught you by now) some more snow, something colder than now (If that's even possible), something else that wants to kill you and the pretty not-so-little palace you're looking for. It's such a contrast from Greece, not having your neighbors living steps from you, On the side of a cliff. It'd be somewhat refreshing if it weren't so damn cold. I digress; however, I was glad to have finally gotten here. Of all the places I'd been, Russia was definitely the coldest and most… interesting, so far.

'Huh, either way, It's good to see you, Watermelon' Yao said, I'm sure to provoke me.

'I'm not a watermelon, miss' I retorted.

'I'm not a lady, aru' he spat

'Well then don't call me watermelon'

'Don't call me miss, aru'

'You LOOK like a woman'

'Your name MEANS watermelon, aru'

'Enough' Ivan snapped, he turned to me, 'You are a watermelon, Deal with it.' He turned to Yao 'You resemble a woman in every way possible, you as well, deal with it.' He breathed heavily, composing himself back into the happy (er) Man we saw moments before.

'Anyway,' I said awkwardly, 'How're your siblings?'

'Aiyah, Which ones? I have seven of them, aru' Yao groaned.

'I haven't the slightest, pick your favorites' I suggested, suppressing a yawn. He started off by explaining that Yong Soo was something of a dork, (Which we all knew) because he had begun to fight with himself. Yao continued to talk, but the conversation Ivan and Toris were having distracted me an awful lot.

'Toris,' Ivan began, turning to the man, whose face showed a mixture of 'Yes, sir, I'll get right on that' and 'Good and decent lord I hope he doesn't hit me with the pipe' 'Which Conference room is set up for this evening?' I watched Toris breathe a sigh of relief as he realized it was just a question. He pointed meekly up a flight of stairs. I felt bad for the guy.

'I-I set the East one up for today, sir' He stammered, 'Th-the Food, vodka, n-notes and flags are all set up there. But I can move them If you prefer the north one.'

'Niet.' Russia, 'The east one is lovely. A wonderful view as well. Good, choice comrade' I clued back In to Yao's discussion with himself.

'And Kiku's one bearer of bad news short of a mental breakdown' Yao sighed, 'Or a stress induced heart attack, aru.'

'Oh my god' I said a little more forcefully than I'd intended, 'what happened?'

'No one knows' Yao said solemnly, seeing the apparent stress in my face. 'He's never been one to open himself up to people. He'd be more inclined to if he had a fraction of the confidence in himself that you do, but alas aside from our dim America, Who does?'

'I'm going to try to take that as a compliment' I announced 'Even though you just compared me to America in a sentence you called him stupid' It was kind of amusing to point little things like that out to people, just to see how they react to their own statements. Yao didn't get to respond however, for Ivan interjected.

'So, Instead of sitting in my foyer like priceless antiques' He made a note of nodding to Yao and making a noise that resembles a fuse about to blow. Yao made a Face. 'Let's head up to the conference room. Alfred and Matthew, whoever that is, aren't due to arrive for an hour or so, and Arthur not for an hour after that.'

'Fair statement, Lead the way Ivan' I said, pointing in erratic directions until he started to walk. We followed, careful not to get ourselves lost.


	3. Alfred

The rest of the Palace was just as huge and magnificent as the entrance, massive white columns, contrasted by golden trim. High, wide widows allowing the light of the snow outside to shine in and reflect on the walls. I was sure if there was anything more beautiful to come, I'd have a heart attack, right there. I was attracted to beautiful things; landscapes, architecture, people, and even my cats had their own beauty in their own, fluffy, sadistic sort of way (And If anyone doesn't believe me that they CAN be sadistic, Try letting 170 something of them roam around outside during one of my storms.) The Wide hallway and the painted ceilings were distracting me enough that I was not actually listening to Ivan while he was speaking (Bad Idea.)

'Heracles' he said as I was elbowed in the ribs By Yao who was giving me quiet scoldings that I didn't understand (They were in Chinese.) 'Do you understand that which I am saying to you now?' Ivan uses far too many words in his sentences when he gets a little bit irritated, I've noticed.

'Sorry' I said meekly to avoid Ivan's rage. 'I was just admiring your house…Erm palace.' Truth 'I've never seen anything so lovely' Not truth, but not far from it, I won't explain here.

'Da' He said simply, 'it is very lovely.' I could hear his voice becoming less and less irritated. 'Anyway' he continued, 'All I was saying is that the meeting will not begin until Alfred and Arthur have arrived.'

'Okay' I said simply. I didn't quite know the importance of that. The Meetings never started until everyone was there. Yao leaned over nonchalantly.

'What he means is,' He said 'We just have to entertain ourselves for a couple of hours without actually beginning the meeting, aru. ' I nodded my head in understanding. What would three nations, with a difference of language, alphabet and lifestyle, do in the conference room of the largest palace I'd ever been to for two hours? Especially considering that one of them was an insane sociopath.

After what seemed like several sunlit days of walking, we arrived in front of the conference room. It wasn't unlike the other doors we'd passed by; minus the writing on the door, which I could only guess said 'Conference room' In Russian. I was almost envious when I saw that even the conference room was spectacular.

'Sit If you wish' Ivan said Ushering us through the door. The table was set with a variety of different foods with little paper flags in the, indicating their country of origin. The round table was evenly spaced out, the flags of our countries and our nameplates each situated in front of a chair.

'Nice' I said tugging on the edge of the blue and white flag next to my name. It was a familiar comfort, the flag, while I was so far from home.

---------------

'Aiyah' Yao said Poking My face. 'The boy's asleep again, aru. ' He continued to nudge me awake.

'Mn' I said opening my eyes groggily. 'What is it?' I yawned 'Did I fall asleep?' Yao nodded at me; I laughed nervously, 'How long was I out?' I inquired.

'Almost an hour, Comrade' Ivan said 'Your cats have gotten very bored.' He gestured toward the pile of cats in the corner. I opened my mouth to reply, but I was interrupted by a shaky knock on the door.

'Excuse me, Ivan, sir' Toris said leaning into the room through a small crack in the door. I van turned to face Him, stressing the already nervous man out further. 'Alfred and the other boy are here. They're in the foyer. Would you care to greet them?' Ivan nodded once and led us out of the room.

'YEOWCH!' I heard echo through the hallways as we approached the front entrance. Yao laughed lightly.

'Ten thousand Yuan says Alfred just met little Soviet aru' He said and we both laughed, breaking the silent tension. Even Ivan Managed to snigger.

Sure enough when we approached the flight of stairs leading into the entrance, Alfred was jumping around with the fluffy menace on his arm, Twirling in erratic directions as another boy, (Who looked awfully familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on who it was) was chasing his motions in an attempt to free Alfred from the cat. I have to admit it was a funny sight to see. Nevertheless, I ran down the flight of stairs, over the banister and grabbed my cat, almost too dramatically. I must have irritated Him further, for he stretched out a fluffy white paw and swatted my face, just below my eye. I could feel the blood running slowly down my cheek. I ignored it.

'Heracles, Thanks buddy' Alfred said, leaning his hand on my shoulder, somehow eyeing my cat and his leg at the same time. 'Fuck that hurts when you're cold.' Nevertheless, he laughed anyway. 'What's with all the cats anyway?'

'They followed me here' I said for the third time today. The other boy, who I assumed was Matthew (Though he didn't bother introducing himself), seemed unperturbed by the cats and didn't ask about them. He didn't say anything at all in fact. I heard Ivan cough behind me. Alfred diverted his attention to him.

'Ivan!' Alfred said, running from me to Ivan, who promptly embraced him so tightly I could have sworn I heard ribs crack. 'How've you been, buddy?'

'Buddy?' Ivan inquired. But he didn't wait for a reply. He pointed to Alfred's hand, clicking his tongue. 'Wrong finger, again, comrade.' Alfred opened his mouth in defense, trying to prepare a response off the top of his head. He was stubborn like that.

The doorbell rang, stopping a fight before it happened.


	4. Arthur

'Wait wait wait' Alfred said looking from Ivan to the door and back to Ivan. 'You have a idoorbell/i?' He looked sincerely shocked. I had never even been to Russia's place before and I saw it. It was hard to miss; It looked more like a rope that would hang from a bell tower. I didn't bother using it as I figured it was tremendously loud (It was.)

'Da' Ivan said, shrugging. I guessed he was thinking the same thing I had been: Every house has a doorbell. Within a moment, Alfred shot toward the door, whipping it open with the abnormal strength I had forgotten he possessed. Arthur stood, daunted by the sheer size of the door, wearing an expression that clearly stated 'What the hell just happened?'

'Get in, Britch' He pointed from Arthur to the entrance. The Brit just stood defiantly in the doorway, denying his son the satisfaction of controlling him.

'I'll go in when I bloody well want to, you twat' He said, but the cold air overpowered him and he ran through the door. Alfred returned to his mission. He grabbed the rope of the doorbell and tugged at it, hard upwards of twenty times, before running back inside dragging the door with him. The doorbell chimed continuously until it reached the limit and stopped. It wasn't until then that Ivan could speak.

'I'm so glad that everyone got here before the storm came about' He said, pointing up the stairs toward what I now knew was the East conference room. He gestured for us to follow him. 'We're expecting a lot of snow tonight. It's likely we'll be snowed in. But not to worry, we have enough supplies for all of us to last a few nights. It'll be fun, like you were all one with mother Russia.' I started to question his idea of fun.

------------

It was mere moments after we'd stepped into the conference room when Arthur tried to begin the meeting. I swear that man was dedicated to his work. I doubted his social life.

'Alright then' Arthur said taking the seat in front of the Union Jack. I don't know where the hell it came from, but he' also managed to set up a steaming teapot on the table and was fussing with a cup in his hand. The little things like that never failed to amuse me during these meetings. 'Before we start I'd like to make sure everyone is here. ' We looked at each other. There were only six people here for the meeting (May I add I was only expecting there to be five) but we shook our heads and let Arthur carry on.

'Alright. Russia?' he called.

'Da'

'China?'

'Aru'

'America?'

'Yo'

'Canarta?'

'It's Canada'

'Greece?'

'Ne'

'Charming, Were all here' Arthur said stacking the papers in front of him, now we can begi-' He was cut off by Ivan.

'The meeting can wait for a little while' Ivan said bluntly, grabbing Alfred's shoulder, 'We have an announcement. ' He paused to get everyone's attention, but Alfred, as impatient as he is, slammed his hands down on the table.

'WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!' He said, a little too loudly.


	5. Vital Regions

Arthur choked on the tea he was sipping, spitting a bit of the still steaming liquid onto the table. I have no idea as to why but we laughed and clapped at his misfortune.

'WHAT?!' he said between recovery coughs. 'When are you having this wedding?' England looked more distressed than I'd ever seen him.

'It's tonight, comrade' Ivan said, causing Arthur to choke again. Ivan just laughed. 'We're going to postpone the meeting until after the wedding.'

'How long is that going to be?' Arthur said standing up from his chair.

'It could be a couple of hours before it starts' Ivan muttered

'We have to wait for Uncle Norman to get here' Alfred Butted in 'And he's like 65, now. So more than likely he's forgotten.' Ivan glared at the smug face the blonde was making. Alfred stopped talking and shifted his eyes to the floor. I looked at Ivan, confused.

'Why is Uncle Nikolas coming?' I inquired. I hadn't seen Uncle Nikolas in years. He had a tendency to only show up when the world was in a state of emergency, Which I'm pretty sure it wasn't, but what do I know?

'Well he iis/i the one marrying us, you know' Alfred said pointedly. Ivan just shrugged

'He's the only one who legally can' He said. He opened his mouth to speak again when the door burst open.

'Gilbert?' I mouthed, shaking my head as the obnoxious young man ran through the door and jumped onto the table we were sitting around, an antique looking sword in his hand. He pointed it at each of us in a half circle.

'Gilbert Weilshmidt' He announced. Why he introduced himself, I'll never know. The entire world (I mean this quite literally) knew his name already. 'I'm here to invade your vital regions!' He sounded somewhat proud of himself although he hadn't done anything. 'Why? Cause I am Just SO awesome like that! HA!'

'What the hell?' Alfred burst into laughter.

'You twat!' Arthur yelled 'Don't you have little ducks to chase, Gilbert?' Gilbert groaned, breaking the hero posture he was holding.

'They are cute, kay?' He whined. Ivan stood up from his chair, 'kol'ing' under his breath.

'Alright! Get out of my house Gilbert' He shouted, grabbing Gilbert by the arm holding the weapon. He wrenched it, forcing the sword to the ground and the man off the table.

'Never!' Gilbert Proclaimed, writhing and struggling in Ivan's one handed vice grip. Ivan groaned, using his free hand to pull what looked to be a lead faucet head out of his coat before proceeding to give Gilbert a firm hit to the head with it. He released his grip and Gilbert fell to the floor, unconscious.

'Toris!' Russia called. Toris rushed into the room within moments.

'I am so sorry, Ivan, sir' He said, avoiding eye contact with any of us by staring fixatedly at the faucet head in Ivan's hand. 'He just pushed through the door when I checked to see who it was. I couldn't stop him'

'Not important' Ivan said 'Would you be so kind as to escort this man outside?'

'By myself?'

'Raivis is hiding in the basement isn't he?' Ivan said bluntly, 'He could try to help you out, da?'

'No need to give the poor soul a heart attack, sir' Toris breathed 'I'll do it myself' He grabbed Gilbert by the wrists and began pulling him out of the room.

Gilbert's feet were barely over the threshold when he began to come to.

'Mummy?' he asked stupidly.

'I'm not your mother' Toris replied.

'Then who are you?'

'Your worst nightmare'

'So you ARE my mother?' Gilbert managed to say before he emitted a serried of pained groans as he was dragged down a flight of stairs.

There was almost a full minute of dead silence in the conference room. We all looked at each other.

The room Exploded in laughter.


	6. Recite

'Ha' Alfred said, standing up when the laughter died down. 'That was abso- fucking- lutely amazing. For a-' Ivan glared at him before he could say something stupid and Alfred shut up immediately.

'Hold on' Arthur said, 'You've trained Alfred to shut up on command?' Ivan nodded proudly.

'Also' Ivan said, nodding his head to Alfred, 'Recite'

'What?' Alfred said, 'Oh' He cleared his throat.

'Watch' Ivan muttered to Arthur.

'Ireland is not after me lucky charms.' Alfred began 'I am not allowed to use the term Pimp cane in front of Ivan. I will stop asking Eduard what the square root of -1 is. Putting a bell collar around Ivan's neck to alert people of his whereabouts is not a good idea. However brilliant it may seem at first. Sitting Next to Ivan dressed as a Finnish soldier in the early 1900s is in poor taste and not Hilarious at all. However loudly he screams. Tying Lovino up and telling him 'Nobody ever expects the Spanish inquisition' Is not funny at all.' At this point Alfred inhaled deeply.

' Kiku does not own a tentacle monster. I will not provoke Berwald in order to hear his accent. It is not hilarious when he kicks you in the groin. Asking questions Of Hong Kong does not Yield answers. I will not remind Peter that he's not a nation. Even though he's not. Matthew's pet is not a baseball, however much it looks like one.'

'Hey!' Matthew whined, clutching his little polar bear tighter. I had completely forgotten he was there.

'Introducing Yong Soo to Ukraine is also in poor taste. Stealing Francis' Wardrobe and Hiding it in Arthur's room, does not change anything for Francis and is not hilarious at all.'

'I'm still mad at you for that, you bastard' Arthur yelled.

'I am not allowed to Say Ivan's younger sister's name within his house. Imitating Feliks' accent is not funny. Amusing myself by repeating Vash's full name over and over again is also not funny. He has a poor temper. Whew. Try not to add any more to that, Ivan.'

'Oh, my bloody god' Arthur said, awestruck. 'How on earth did you manage to do to him what I've been trying to do to him for nineteen years?'

'Hell if I know, comrade' Ivan shrugged.

'Does that happen often?' I asked, changing the subject.

'What? Gilbert running in and threatening my houseguests?' Ivan laughed, 'Niet, I don't have many invited houseguests.' He paused 'However there always seems to be people around here. I don't mind all that much. I still blame Toris, though.'

'Sorry' I heard Toris yell from down the hall.

'Anyway' Ivan said 'More than likely there'll be a number of familiar faces around. Who? I haven't the slightest'

I smiled to myself. I was sure the night would prove to be entertaining.


	7. The Mistake

It wasn't long before Alfred's mind snapped of boredom. He managed to convince himself that we all wanted to play his silly little American word games with him.

'Do what you want' Ivan muttered, 'But first, Vodka Shots' He smiled pouring shot after shot of vodka from a bottle so large he needed two hands to hold it up. 'You all need to take at least one or you're going to have to sleep outside' I made a mental note that that was the second time Ivan had mentioned someone sleeping outside (Or not having to in my case)

'Why?' Arthur asked bluntly.

'House rules' Ivan snapped 'You've got a problem with that, comrade?' He placed his hand conspicuously into his coat.

'No no, not at all' Arthur said His eyes immediately shifting to the shot glasses, grabbing one off the tray, downing the glass and pulling a face, 'Strong stuff' He managed to groan. Alfred burst out laughing and grabbed a glass with an arrogant face, as if to prove himself better than his father. He proceeded to choke on the liquid in the glass, mid-shot. We all laughed at him. Yao, Ivan and I all took a glass in turn, clinked our glasses together and drank the liquid, all laughing to ourselves on how much better we were at holding alcohol. Alfred was still coughing in the background.

--------

Alfred returned his attention to the little games he wanted to us to play. Ivan flat out refused, Arthur called him a twat, again, Yao managed to convince him that it was somehow against his religion, Matthew wasn't asked.

I had no excuse.

'It's simple,' Alfred said, 'you just keep you kinds moving and you list off words relating to the topic. You can't repeat any and you have a one second hesitation moment. Simple right?'

'Ant this is considered fun in you country?' I said blankly. Alfred nodded vigorously, holding out his hands. I shrugged and held out my hands, following his lead. He sp=oke an introduction explaining the rules he just gave me.

'Topic is' He said, 'Names' pause 'Alfred'

'Uh, Heracles'

'Ivan'

'Yao'

'Arthur'

'Kiku'

'Matthew'

'Erm… Gupta'

'Natalya'

Dead silence. Ivan looked severely offended.

'Get out' He said, pointing to the door.

'Ivan, I really don't think he meant' Arthur began.

'You too, Get out!' Ivan growled, 'All of you, out of my house!' He pushed all of us out the conference room, 'Toris! Come here' and he slammed the door.

'Ivan' Alfred whined, pounding on the door helplessly, 'I didn't mean that, honest' Silence

Toris walked up behind us, parting the crowd in the narrow hallway. He knocked gently on the door.

'Sir, you needed something?' He said. I'd never realized before how much Toris shook when he spoke to Ivan, even through the door. I realized that at this point in time, I wouldn't blame him.

'Da, send these people outside' Ivan said

'The doors don't open right now, sir' Toris replied. 'The snow has passed the top of the door frame. We're snowed in, sir.'

'The cellar, then, comrade. Just get them away from me'

'As you wish sir.' Toris led us away from the door; I stood where I was, watching them. Toris ushered me to follow him. I shook my head and pointed to the closed door.

'I can at least try to help' I mouthed, waving Toris towards me and I whispered to him 'Should I some how survive this encounter, I'll meet you in the foyer, there's no way I'm going to be able to find the cellar on my own, and I'd prefer to be with familiar people whom aren't out to get me.' I paused 'As much' I added on. Toris nodded his head and left to lead everyone to the cellar.

I knocked on the door

'Niet' I heard him say on the other side of the door. I knew very little Russian but I knew that one well enough. I placed my hand lightly on the door and took a breath.

'Heracles' I introduced blandly.

'Prove it'

'What? Besides my accent in this skata language I'm trying to speak?' Ivan responded with silence. I groaned 'Heracles Karpusi of Greece, now under the consensual rule of Mother Russia, thereby giving my title the Soviet Hellenic republic. My surname does indeed mean watermelon in Greek. My mother was killed by my adopted father, Sadiq Adnan, who is now my sworn enemy, though I regret to admit he makes excellent cofee' I inhaled deeply

'He killed your mother?' Ivan said sincerely

'Ne' I said, not bothering to answer in English

'I never knew that'

'Mn. Can I come in?'

'Are you alone?'

'Completely'

'Then, Da' He said 'The door isn't actually locked'

So I pushed the door open.


	8. Outside Help

I peered into the room. It was dark but for a single, stunted candle on the table next to Ivan, Presumably just for the light. Or maybe he liked to watch things burn, who's to know with him? The silver wedding band was separated from its owner and looked to have been tossed haphazardly aside.

'Close the door' Ivan said. I obliged. It wasn't the best time to anger Ivan Further. 'What do you want?' I looked at him. I could see in his eyes that he'd been crying. It was a saddening sight to see him like that.

'Before I forward that information' I said softly, 'if I was to ask questions, would I get answers, or a concussion?' Ivan smiled weakly

'Are you always this bold?' Ivan said to me, not looking up.

'If I wasn't I never would have gotten my country back.' I said, 'I'm a strong believer in that everything happens to everybody, all at different times.'

'And that means?' Ivan looked up at me

'That we'll all have wars, We'll all have love and we'll all have ibad breakups/i' I nodded my head towards him. Silence.

'Can you deny that you love him?' I inquired. Still no response, in fact, he turned away from me. I rested the back of my hand on his arm.

'I'll give you three seconds' Ivan growled. I bit my lower lip and turned my hand over, ignoring his request. 'You really are a bold one' He stood up and grabbed my arm. I braced my balance but looked him straight in the eye, 'Do you not fear the wrath of Mother Russia?' He said.

'Terrified' I said roughly 'But this isn't about me!' I said a little too loudly. Ivan blinked once and released his grip from my arm.

'Why do you care so much' He shook his head at me. I broke eye contact.

'Personal experience' I said to the floor.

'With Alfred?'

'Oh HELL no' I spat 'No no no, I just mean, I've seen all of this before. Suspicions and Bad blood between people like us start WARS. We really don't need another one.' I looked at Ivan seriously 'He really does love you.'

'If he really did' Ivan said, 'He'd have the decency to respect the ONLY limitation I strictly imposed on him. He of all people had to be the one to bring up my sister.' He sighed, laughing slightly 'You should go.' He managed 'I'll deal with the rest of this myself' I nodded once and backed out of the room.

Had I helped Any? There was no way of knowing.

But I tried.


	9. Downhill

'You survived?' Toris said as I jumped the banister in the entrance. I nodded, 'Come with me, you can tell us all what happened later'

We traveled down towards the cellar. It was a surprisingly short walk from the front entrance. There were, however a lot of stairs and it was getting increasingly colder as we descended down them. By the time we finally reached the bottom I could see my breath forming in front of me. Toris pushed the door open. Arthur, Alfred and Yao were all leaning on a large table in the middle of the room. They turned to look at me. Nobody said anything until Alfred Pushed himself to standing and ran over to me, grabbing both my shoulders.

'WHAT HAPPENED!?' He yelled at me.

'I'll tell you if you back off a little bit' I grumbled 'You smell like grease and processed food'

'Greece? I thought you were from Greece' Alfred said, oblivious, but taking his hands off my shoulders and taking a step back anyway

'Aiyah' Yao said sharing in my frustration, 'He means grease, the stuff you fry your repulsive food in, aru'

'Oh' Alfred Groaned 'Well how was I supposed to know if they sound the same?'

'Context?' Toris said.

'Anyway' Alfred said, 'what happened?!'

'Well Ivan's currently sitting in the conference room with naught but a single lit candle and the bottle of vodka.' I said to the group,' He's removed the wedding band. I tried to talk to him, but I don't think I helped much, but at the very least, I suppose talking spared my life. I walked out with only this' I pulled up my sleeve to show a large, dark bruise on my arm.

'Oh dear, I think you should get some ice on that' Toris said.

'Ohi, it's okay, If anything, I'm sure It's as cold as Ice down here' I waved Toris' comment off and looked directly to Alfred, 'I didn't think he would, but he's been crying.' I said.

'You're kidding' Yao said, 'I've known him since he was about this high' He motioned down to about his knee, 'And never once have I seen him break down'

'You hurt him, Alfred' I said

'I only mentioned his sister's name. He's being unreasonable'

'It's an issue of Respect, though'

'Respect? The boy doesn't respect anything. 'cept maybe himself. I should know, I raised him'

'You know what? Shut up mum'

'Ugh, I'm not your mum.'

'Between you and dad, you're more of a woman'

'Your dad is a lazy-ass, guitar-playing, over eating twat.'

'C'mon, Then why'd you sleep with him?'

'Hold on, Back up, Who In Hell are you talking about?' I interjected.

'Antonio' Arthur and Alfred said together.

'Wait' I turned towards Arthur, 'You slept with my half brother? Oh that's just foul.'

'Who hasn't this guy slept with?' Yao said, 'Antonio, Francis, Kiku, just to name off the top of my head'

'Kiku?' Alfred said. His eyebrows furrowed in thought. 'I thought Kiku was with you, Heracles'

'He is' I nodded. Great, I was honestly hoping this argument wouldn't be brought up again. Trust Alfred to be the one to bring it forward

'And Arthur?'

'That's right' Arthur also nodded, Glaring at me, 'But we all know he prefers me'

'Oh really' I said Smugly, 'And what makes you think that?'

'I'm not arguing with you on this, It's true fact'

'Whatever you say'

'You're Just giving up like that' Alfred inquired 'Damn, I thought I'd get to see you two duke it out'

'I'll never understand you Alfred,' I said shaking my head 'But we're dealing with a matter of apples and oranges here. Pinning A dead sexy Mediterranean Man' I gestured to myself 'Against an annoying Brit with an eyebrow issue. Anyway, Does Kiku know about your little outside adventures?'

'Does he know about yours?'

'Bad argument' I felt myself flush 'At least I don't sleep around on a whim' Everyone raised their eyebrows, 'Passion is not a whim, shut up'

'Is that what you said when you slept with Sadiq?' Arthur smirked. I choked. That was a different matter.

**------**

**A/N A few notes here now that I know that I'm doing (The first 8 chapters were posted when I just got the new member lock off my account, ha ha)**

**Uhm, so this Is actually based off a couple of real events with my friends and I about a month and a half ago. We were all kind of cosplaying a conference in Russia, I was Greece and being the author I figured if I can't write third person well, I might as well write it from greece's point of view. That's why it is, -nod nod- Also This is going to sweep into a Greece x Japan fic as well as a Russia x America.**

**Oh and about Greece mentioning Spain as his half brother. I'll explain that 'cause I don't think that's canon. Well Logically speaking, The Italies and Greece would also be half brothers due to roman influence blah blah blah. And because of Romano's ties to spain that would also make spain one of his half brothers, see?**


	10. My Story part I

'Ah! Speak of the devil,' Arthur said over my shoulder, grinning, 'What the hell are you doing here, Sadiq?' I cringed as I slowly turned my head around. No one was standing there. Arthur burst out laughing, warranting a smirk from Alfred as well.

'What's with you two anyway? You and Sadiq, I mean. I haven't seen two people genuinely fight so much for so long since Arthur and Francis. And even they can work together sometimes' Yao said, sounding genuinely concerned, ignoring the English-speaking bastards and their laugh riot. I was beginning to think he was the only levelheaded one in this frozen hell. I smiled weakly at his inquiry but shook my head.

'It's a lengthy story' I managed to say, 'You probably don't want to sit through it.' Yao laughed

'I'm four thousand years old' He reminded me, '_I_ have a long history. Your story isn't that long. Trust me. If anyone knows how refreshing it is to have someone actually care, it's me'

'If you insist' I smiled, and so I told him my story.

_It was beautiful. The sun gave life to the sparkling water, flaunting its wonders and secrets on its smooth glassy surface. The Olive tree standing proudly outside the window seemed to glow gold in the sunlight._

_Dariea Sat in the middle of the marble floor. Her young son, Heracles, no more than five years old, was sitting cross-legged next to her. He was far too occupied with the small black kitten in his arms to pay attention to the teachings his mother was impressing upon him._

'_Heracles' she said. Her voice was as smooth as the waters surrounding the islands they oversaw. There was, however a firmness that attracted his immediate attention. 'Are you listening, dear?' She directed his attention to the tablets in front of her._

'_I'm sorry, Mama' He said, his deep eyes looking from his mother to the little cat, now squirming in his arms 'Can we do these lessons later?' He rubbed his eyes with his fist 'I'm really tired.' His mother smiled warmly to him, lifting him and his cat off the floor, carrying him into the adjacent room and placing him gently onto the bed before leaving, closing the door behind her._

_A man outside the door stopped her._

'_Ma'am' he said solemnly, yet with urgency laced in his voice. 'The Ottomans have breached the outer guard in Athens and are heading in our direction. Orders?' Dariea bowed her head and spoke to white marble._

'_Bring the third guard to the second' She said 'Re-enforce everything we have' She paused for a split second to think, 'I'll have to lead the home arms myself' she breathed, maintaining her cool exterior. She looked the man dead in the face, resting her hand on his shoulder. 'Whatever you do, be sure my son is kept safe, should anything happen to me.' He nodded once before running off to relay instructions._

_Dariea Bowed her head again, stray bits of her dark hair falling on her face. She turned to push the door in to Heracles' bedroom. She was careful to let as little light as possible._

_She kneeled softly beside the sleeping boy, pushed his far too long hair up and kissed his forehead lightly. He stirred in his sleep but did not wake. Ancient Greece smiled at her son._

'_May your reign last forever' She whispered before leaving Heracles to sleep. _

**----**

**A/N Ha ha ha, Yeah, you get Greece's story free of charge. This thing spans about three capters, So the plot's not really going to continue until after the fact so, read on. I actually like how I wrote this. =D **

**Rate and Review?**


	11. My story part II

'_We cannot just stand here' Dariea announced to a number of people sitting around a circular table. 'The Ottomans are approaching quickly and they must be stopped. All troops need to assemble outside in one hour, Adjourned'_

_-------_

_It was another couple of hours before Young Heracles woke to the clash of metal and the final shouts of brave, fallen warriors. Heracles opened his eyes groggily and hopped out of his bed. He pushed the door open and stepped out. He could see movement of people and the all too familiar sound of death. He ran forward and his himself behind a marble Column. His green eyes scanned the Blood-red battlefield for his mother. _

_She wasn't hard to spot being the only woman. Fighting with Grace and agility Heracles had never seen in his mother. She was holding off a larger man. He was much better dressed than any of the other opposing men. He was dressed all in green. A torn, graying scarf slung roughly over his neck, a number of chains attached to his Uniform and a bright red fez perched upon his head. The most noticeable feature was the mask. The white mask shielded the upper portion of the man's face. He was almost fascinating, had he not have been a threat._

_Heracles watched with intrigue, silently cheering for his mother from behind the pillar, hidden out of sight. What started out as a vicious, uncoordinated fight began to change. It was beginning to look more like a dance. As the Man took a step forward, his mother followed suit by taking a step in the opposite. The sound of clashing metal was still reverberating in Heracles' ears, until almost immediately he lost all his senses. He heard not a sound after the final clash. His Mother's sword against Her Masked Adversary's. It was an even push until the Man in the mask freed one hand, sliding it into his coat Pocket. Heracles had Hardly seen the dagger he pulled out until it was to the hilt and his Mother fell to the ground, her white tunic stained with her own blood. _

'_Mama!!' Heracles screamed running from his hiding place behind the pillar, moving as fast as his short little legs would take him. The fighting seemed to stop as the five year old ran straight into the battlefield. He kneeled next to his mother ignoring the hem of his robe, which was soaking up the pool of blood he was sitting in. He placed one hand in hers, the other reached forward to touch her face._

_Cold._

_His mother was gone. _

_Blinded by fury and sadness Heracles was led away from his dead mother by a couple of sincere-sounding words. He couldn't see through his tear-blurred vision who it was._

'_This ain't the place for ya, son' the man said softly, grabbing the young boy's hand. 'There's nothing we can do for 'er now. But don't you worry, son, I'll take ya in. I've got your little cat, too' Heracles nodded his head wearily. _

'_Who are you?' Heracles asked, wiping the salty tears from his face._

'_My name?' The man answered. 'Sadiq. But that's not the important part here; we need to get you home.' Heracles had a haunting feeling that home wasn't going to be the home he was used to. _

_**----**_

_**A/N**_**- Shorter than the others, sorry. R&R?**


	12. My story Ch III

_Sadiq raised Heracles, contentedly for many years following that date. His homeland became part of the Ottoman Empire. He learned a new language and a new way of life. Heracles couldn't say he was treated badly, In fact it was the opposite. He was treated like son Sadiq never had. It wasn't until He started to remember his History did he begin to question Sadiq's integrity. _

_He returned to visit his Home in Athens for the first time. A site of Battle lay untouched for years. He explored the site, His cat, Mau, which was given to him By Gupta so many years ago, still walked behind him, though old now and with a limp; it was as if nothing had changed. He walked through the entrance where the tablets he had been studying from still lay. A memory of that day flashed before him. The urgency of his mother's voice, The announcement of the beginning of a battle, the blood, the sound of metal against metal returning to his ears. It was almost too much to bear, but he remembered one more, striking detail, the one that killed his mother: the man in the white mask._

'_May your reign last forever' He repeated those words to himself. They were the last his mother said to him .Had she known this might happen? He ran from his had-been house and pushed himself, faster than he'd ever run before._

_------_

_He threw open the door, Startling Sadiq, who was lazily downing a cup of coffee._

'_You Bastard' Heracles Screamed, running to him, a silver blade forced roughly against his throat. Sadiq's head was forced backwards. _

'_What the hell are ya babbering on about, boy' Sadiq growled, attempting to maneuver his hand to the blade on his throat. Heracles grabbed it with his free handed pinned it roughly to the chair._

'_You killed my mother' He yelled, 'Killed my mother, took my land, my culture, my life. It was rightfully mine.' His voice cracked, 'You hid behind your false promises, your lies. A mask, if you will' Heracles nodded to the mask on his face_

'_There's nuttin' ya can do about it now, is there, you ungrateful little-'_

'_Oh yes there is' Heracles growled pushing the blade closer to his neck._

'_Ya dun understand' Sadiq said defensively, 'Ya would have died If I'd just left ya there.'_

'_Died? Like my mother? I'd have died with my dignity' Heracles spat, grabbing the collar of Sadiq's uniform. 'C'mon' and he dragged the older man unwillingly out of the room._

_------_

'_Uncle Nikolas!' Heracles shouted, pounding on the door. An old man opened the door, slowly._

'_Yes?' He peered through the crack in the door 'Oh! Heracles, good to see you! Come on in.' Heracles nodded and stepped through the door, dragging Sadiq behind him. 'Is there something you need?' Heracles threw Sadiq to the ground._

'_I'm here to re-claim my country' Heracles said bluntly. _

---

**A/N Plot can continue now, I suppose**


End file.
